ELIZABETH Taylor is in an LA hos pital. Brought there yesterday from her Beverly Hills home. Not to add aggravation onto the Jacksons, but the source of her condition is simply: The heart’s gone out of her. As I’ve reported repeatedly, in a wheelchair, nurses in attendance, she was on the way to his London opening. Then he died, and she began screaming. Then the Jackson family denied her access to their funeral pews and barred her from the events because she was Michael’s friend, not theirs. She’s suffering weakness, tiredness, exhaustion, emotional draining. She hasn’t stopped crying. She and Michael were devoted to one another.

THE murk and mystery surrounding Michael’s bones drag on. He now lies brainless in death. There are those looking to allege he was also brainless in life.

There exists an insurance policy written with a large international company. It is, upon his natural death, for in excess of $20 million. His children are listed as sole beneficiaries. Pending the forensics and toxicology reports, this of course cannot be activated. Whispers are, maybe maybe maybe it will never be activated.

The insurers are investigating the possibility this was, in fact, not natural death. Also investigating whether he was totally truthful or evasive or did he actually lie when applying for this policy. About abusing drugs and tricking practitioners into prescriptions for life-altering prescriptions, word is they knew nothing. Their tactic is gearing up to say his not-so-natural death was self-inflicted by his lifestyle.

I’m hearing they may go further with the tack that his history of drugs amounts to suicide. The policy does not pay out on suicide. Since it is not believed anyone tied him down and forced this stuff down his throat or placed a gun to his head to make him inject himself, since doctors are falling all over themselves stating how they warned him not to take all this, insurers are theorizing that he basically killed himself. That Michael’s personal lifestyle inflicted this death on himself.

Thus, even before the fights begin between the family and is whoever cares for these kids entitled to this insurance payout, there simply might not be any payout to fight over. Each day $20 million is held out makes more money for the company. They could conceivably tie this up in court for more years than he lived.

RUSS Tamblyn‘s smart, funny daughter Amber Tamblyn out with her second book of poetry in September . . . Dylan McDermott‘s here two days doing p.r. for his “Dark Blue” TNT-TV series, a Jerry Bruckheimer job about LA’s undercover secret police unit which nobody supposedly knows about but which everybody knows about . . . The 28th, Julianna Margulies and Chris Noth start filming CBS’ “The Good Wife.” Set in Chicago, it films in Brooklyn and, as I’ve told you, is about those goody political wives who stay with those lousy husbands . . . Val Kilmer developing an artist’s project on his New Mexico ranch . . . Imelda Marcos, Philippines’ former first lady, invited international pals to Manila for her 80th birthday . . . Presumably Sarah Palin will soon prove the fact that the state with the highest percentage of people who walk to work is — Alaska.

SO is Fox taking Jeanine Pirro‘s syn dicated TV judge show, which is going off whatever it was on to make room for a Tyra Banks perpetual marathon? . . . In the immortal words of Sam Nostradamus: Marriage changes passion. Suddenly you’re in bed with a relative . . . Denis Leary‘s charmingly titled best seller “Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide To Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid” comes out October in paperback with, he guarantees, “a hilarious new introduction” . . . We’re also due to get Tiki Barber‘s “Pure Hard Workout: Stop Wasting Time and Start Building Real Strength and Muscle.” It’s stretching, workouts, warm-ups, enough to give us strength to lift a book with such a long title.

SONDRA Hassman hit Belmont over July Fourth weekend. Big-time col umn reader, she spotted a horse named Jazzy, thought about my Yorkie and placed her bet. Long shot Jazzy paid $50 for her two bucks.